Jerry Sandusky: Feds subpoena Penn State for top officials' info

February 24, 2012|By Michael Muskal | This post has been updated. Please see note at bottom for details

Federal authorities are seeking information about Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach facing state charges of sexually abusing children, as well as others involved in the scandal that has shaken the college sports powerhouse.

Penn State on Friday acknowledged receiving a federal subpoena from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania seeking information on Sandusky and others. The school is complying with the request, said Lisa Powers, director of the department of public information, in an email.

According to Powers, the federal request also seeks information about former university President Graham Spanier, who was forced out during the scandal, plus athletic director Tim Curley and retired vice president Gary Schultz, who face state charges that they lied to a grand jury investigating Sandusky.

Also sought were “any records of any payments by board members to the university or to third parties on the university's behalf. The subpoena also seeks reporting requirements of employers and staff relating to allegations of misconduct by staff or individuals associated with the university,” Powers wrote. Federal authorities also asked for information about Second Mile, the charity Sandusky founded.

Spanier has not been charged with any crime but lost his job, as did football coach Joe Paterno, who died Jan. 22. The school’s board of trustees questioned whether the top officials had done enough to investigate Sandusky.

The subpoena was dated Feb. 2 but remained secret until Harrisburg's the Patriot-News reported on it Thursday night.

“Because this is an ongoing investigation, I can't provide details about the request,” Powers wrote.

Heidi Havens, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office also refused in a telephone interview to discuss the contents of the subpoena.

Sandusky faces state charges that he sexually abused boys over a 15-year period. Some of the children came from the charity, Second Mile, that Sandusky founded. Sandusky would bring the children on field trips to Penn State even after he left the university’s employ.

It was during one such trip that an assistant football coach claimed to see Sandusky with a young boy in the shower; the coach said he told his superiors that he saw improper activities. Sandusky in media interviews has acknowledged showering with the boy but has denied molesting him.

Authorities have said they are also looking at Sandusky’s activities with an alleged victim in 1999 at the Alamo Bowl in Texas – Sandusky’s last game as a Penn State coach. Those events could be part of what federal authorities are examining because it involves crossing state lines.